


The Elementals: A Negan & Blake AU

by EventHorizons13



Series: Alternate Negan and Blake Stories [5]
Category: Marvel (Comics), The Walking Dead (TV), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Mutants, F/M, Mutant Powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:33:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23655403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EventHorizons13/pseuds/EventHorizons13
Summary: Blake is an earth elemental and works as a teacher at Xavier’s school. Negan is a fire elemental and a newcomer to the school. The two are polar opposites and yet Negan is pulled towards Blake.
Relationships: Negan (Walking Dead)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Alternate Negan and Blake Stories [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2075547
Kudos: 8





	1. Earth and Fire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KittyKatZorse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyKatZorse/gifts).
  * Inspired by [I think I liked you better when you didn't have a knife in your hand, Peaches...](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12913611) by [KittyKatZorse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyKatZorse/pseuds/KittyKatZorse). 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake was comfortable in her life at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. There were plenty of other mutants that came and went, passing through without sticking around. Negan shows up and Blake is instantly off balance.

It had been a relatively quiet afternoon. Which all things considered, was rather unusual in a school full of young mutants. Not a single soul was willing to jinx it though by saying anything, an unspoken rule that everyone knew. Something Blake had quickly learned. 

She had only been at the school for a few weeks now, still getting settled into the ebb and flow of the daily routine. Here, no one knew her past, no one knew who she used to be, who she used to be with. It was freeing in a lot of ways. A level of comfort was finally coming back to her, in movements, in decisions, in everything she did. That weight that was David hovering over her was gone. He had been foolish and gotten himself in a tussle with a feral mutant. Those were scenes Blake would never forget. The grieving had finished a few days before she ended up here at the Institute. Every mutant knew it was a refuge of some sort. It was a place one could pick themselves back up off the floor, brush the dust off, and begin again. 

Of course everyone had to contribute. Her portion was a new garden to help the food supples since she was an earth elemental mutant. Money didn't seem to be an issue around here but it was fun to get some of the kids in the dirt with her. Since it wasn't a mandatory class or skill, those that showed up were eager to learn. It made things a lot easier and Blake found her smile coming back easier and easier with each day. There was an ease and familiarity in the motions. Her powers kept her grounded as she went through the motions.

She was digging a few new holes to plant a few fruits trees. The plan was to have some apple, pear, and peach trees in various places around the grounds. It would not only increase the softness and welcoming atmosphere of the grounds but it would give the students places to sit and grab a quick snack. It was another notch in making it a place for them to be comfortable and enjoy themselves.

"Hey Blake!" She looked up when she heard Scott call out her name. Giving the man a smile, she leaned back on her heels.

"What can I do for you Scott?" 

"Well, I just got word from the Professor that we have another elemental coming in. Supposedly he is an earth one like you are. From what I understand he lost his wife and the group that he was running with. I was hoping you might be there when he comes in. Maybe finding someone who has that similar feel might be more comforting to him." Scott was always thinking about others more than himself. It was a change that had taken her some time to get used to.

"Yeah, of course. I know how tough it is coming into a place like this, as nice as everyone is." It was intimidating and overwhelming. Coming to a place with this many mutants, especially young ones took time to adjust to. 

Blake brushed off the dirt on her gloves. 

"When are you expecting him to come in?"

"Jean should be bringing him back right before dinner so you have some time to finish up what you are doing. They are looking great by the way." 

"Thanks. They'll take some time to grow but it's a solid foundation." She was proud of the work she had done, a fond smile on her lips as she took in the sapling that was ready to be planted.

"Everyone is going to love having them around." He gave her one final smile before moving off. Blake shook her head with the smile still on her face before finishing the task at hand.

Blake had gotten herself cleaned up after planting another six trees and ensuring the roots took hold in the earth. Jean should have been arriving back any time now so she made her way down the stairs and towards the main entrance. The first thing that she noticed before the door even opened though was the tickle of scorched earth in her nose. That didn't mean anything good and her breath caught in her throat. She wasn't able to move before the door opened though. 

The new comer certainly wasn't an earth elemental like her. No, the telltale scent that carried through the door with him let her know before he had the chance to show off that he had control of fire. The next thing she noticed was the appearance of the lanky figure that was stepping into the school. Slicked back hair, salt and pepper beard, and a smirk on his face that didn't fit with the description of the loss that he had suffered greeted her. What was she supposed to do with that? Unfortunately, she wasn't given the chance to play it off either since Jean greeted her right away.

"Blake, I am glad you are here." Clearly no one understood that this man stood at the opposite end of the spectrum from her but she had to be kind and do what had been asked of her. "Negan, this is one of our resident elementals Blake. Blake, this is Negan."

"Hello Negan." She wasn't sure she should bring up why and how he had ended up here or not. 

"Hi there doll." He stepped closer and her nose wrinkled up a bit in distaste before she could help it. She had never been fond of the scent. Though there was something else behind his that Blake couldn't exactly place.

"Blake is going to show you around and to your room. I am sure the Professor will be happy to meet with you tomorrow to discuss everything once he is back. If you have a problem, please feel free to find myself or Scott until then." A quick nod came from him.

"Sure I will." That was a smooth voice, a little raspier than maybe she had anticipated though it seemed to suit the man. Jean walked passed Blake and gave her shoulder a small squeeze, almost as if she was apologizing. That was never a good sign. "Shall we get this show on the road then?" Confident. He wasn't showing a single sign of all the loss that he had just went through that could have very well been his defense mechanism against it. Falling back into old habits made it easier to not focus on the hurt. Something that Blake knew well enough.

She took in a slow breath and gave the new comer a smile. She didn't know him. The Professor wouldn't allow anyone to come here that he thought would do harm to anyone else. She had to trust in that. This man had suffered a lot of loss recently. Just because she had some preset prejudices against his particular brand of mutant didn't mean he was going to be a terrible person.

"I guess I'll start with all the important places first." Those included the kitchen, the medical area, the professors office, and the training rooms. It was probably all he needed to really know to begin with. The entire time, she could feel his eyes on her though he never made an attempt to put a hand on her. Thankfully. Oddly enough, he remained fairly quiet throughout most of the tour, though they were often running into young students. It was impossible not to.

"And this should be your room." Only two doors down from her own, something that Blake quickly noted.

"Thanks doll." He paused outside the room, almost as if he was hesitant to go in. It was the first hint of something other than confident and cocky that she had gotten out of him. "Think I am going to talk a walk around the grounds. Care to join? You know, in case I get lost." The smirk that went alone with it had Blake shifting on her feet a bit. Should she have found it as attractive as she did in that moment? Probably not.

"I have some things I need to see to. I can walk you out at least..." She had a few more trees that she wanted to plant before she lost light and would have to wait until tomorrow. 

"I'll take what I can get for now." He chuckled a bit. As they began walking back to the grounds, her nose wrinkled as another whiff of the scent caught her off guard. "Know I might need a fucking shower but I can't be that bad." A slight blush came to her cheeks at being caught.

"It isn't that..." She wasn't sure how to explain while being somewhat kind. "Not a fan of the scorched earth scent that comes with a fire elemental is all. Goes against what I am used to..."

"Oh shit. That's right. They said you were an elemental. Let me guess then. Hippy tree shit?" She rolled her eyes. 

"Yes. I am an earth elemental." She spoke, tone a bit more frustrated now than it had been before. She had done what Jean had asked of her. There wasn't anything more required. She could leave him to his own devices finally. Which was exactly what she planned on doing as they stepped outside. 

"Would explain why you smell like dirt..." There was something else he was going to say but he clearly stopped himself. 

"Yeah thanks..." Fantastic thing for him to say. She wanted to check on the trees that she had planted before moving to the garden to check on the veggies that some of the students had planted last week. 

"Didn't say it was a bad thing." 

"Just...go do your own thing. I have a few things I need to do. If you need help, you can find Scott or Jean." 

"No need to get feisty. Though that is how I prefer my women..." That was the final straw for Blake. She immediately took off in the opposite direction. There would be a talk with Jean and Scott tonight. She wasn't doing anything else with the man while he was here. 


	2. Lines Burnt in the Sand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fallout from an argument with Negan is worse than Blake could have ever expected.

Blake smiled at the children as they all gathered around to help her plant some more trees. The mansion was oddly quiet compared to how it normally was. Though it wasn’t necessarily unusual given that spring break was here and those that could do home had quickly taken the option. So they were only running at maybe a third capacity. It gave her more time to spend with some of the kids that needed it. Most that stayed were the children that lived there. Few decided that it wasn’t worth traveling for the small holiday. The kids that lived there were the ones that needed a closer eye, a little more love and attention. They had no one else to give it to them. Blake remembered being like that, feeling lonely and isolated at the mansion even if she was surrounded by others that were like her. A little extra attention often went a long way, especially with this kids. To see the smile on their faces made it all worthwhile. 

So, that always drove her to remain around the breaks and try to give them as much attention as possible. A lot of them were always very appreciative of the fact and took as much as she was willing to give. And under her eye, they were allowed to stretch and exercise their control over their powers. 

Like the current moment. One of the girls had abilities similar to hers so she was trying to get the tree to take root in the ground. She was struggling though at reaching out and making the connection. Blake remembered that it wasn’t easy to gain that access. She had to start small with seeds. Amelia had already mastered that portion. Blake was surprised to find that she had relative ease with that. With that in mind, Blake had decided to try and challenge the girl. Hence the juvenile tree that Amelia was working on. The older woman could feel the stir in the tree. The roots wanted to reach out and ground themselves. There was just a lack of that little bit of an extra push that was needed to make it actually happen.

“You are almost there Amelia. A little more force.” There was a fine line when it came to the amount of force that had to be used. Too much could cause irreversible damage and not enough would result in the obvious. A look of nothing but pure concentration was plastered on the young girls face. Her hands even shook with the amount of effort she was putting into the task. Blake called it after a moment. “It’s okay. Let it go and calm down.” She soothed the young one softly. Disappointment was all too familiar among mutants. 

“You will get it. It just needs some work and practice. Pushing too hard won’t help you. You did a very good job. It wanted to listen to what you were asking. I could feel the roots moving. It really is impressive.” The disappointment slowly melted from the girl, soon replaced by a smile thanks to the praise that Blake was giving her.

“Thanks Blake!” She relaxed back as Blake moved to do what she had just been struggling with. She could hear the sigh that came from Amelia and had to fight a laugh. Her abilities would come in time but patience was never a strong suit of any child. They soon finished up with what they were working on and Blake ushered them all back into the mansion for some lunch. Afterwards, they would be free to do as they pleased for the afternoon. Break wasn’t supposed to be structured after all.

She had been having a pleasant morning. Then Negan had to go and walk into the kitchen while she was eating her lunch. The kids had all finished eating so she was alone. That meant that there was no one there that could save her from conversation with the man. She had done so well at avoiding him since he had arrived at the mansion. She honestly wasn’t sure what he was still doing here anyway. He didn’t seem to want to do anything as far as teaching went and he didn’t go out and help the team when they went out. Everyone pulled their weight here at the mansion in one form or another. 

The grin that crossed his face said that he knew he had her dead to rights. She cursed and tried to ignore him, hoping that it would be enough to send him away though it was a useless attempt. Her was over next to her before she could shift to get out of her seat.

“Hey there doll. Long time no see.” The scent that he was giving off was giving her an instant headache. Like it had the first time she had met him. There was just something that fire elementals gave off that never sat well. Her nose wrinkled in distaste but unfortunately, she really didn’t have a reason to be short with him. Their interactions were few and far between. 

“Sorry, I have something to do…” She tried, hoping that he would buy the excuse. Though the likelihood of that happening was slim. Her luck was running very low at this very moment. His brow rose and he shifted to block off her escape route a bit.

“What the hell did I do that’s so damn bad that you are avoiding me like the plague?” So he had noticed. Blake licked her lips and avoided his gaze. 

“Nothing. I just am busy.” Even she didn't buy her lie and winced as soon as the last syllable left her mouth. He called her out on it immediately.

“Bullshit. If you have a problem with me, just tell me.” She brushed past him, praying that he would not be the sort to just reach out and grab a hold of someone. She wasn’t sure she could be in his grasp right now. With a little more space though, she would be able to dodge any sort of move he made.

“I don’t have a problem with you. I just… I don't like being around fire elementals.” That was the truth and part of the reason that she didn’t want to be around him. She wasn’t about to voice the reason that he himself made her uncomfortable. It was something about his personality, something about the confidence that was just a little too much for her to deal with. She could deal with it when it came to most of the other mutants in the mansion. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different about Negan. There was something though. He snorted softly and frowned as he looked at her. 

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” 

“It means what it means.” She spit out. “You all give me a headache. I can’t stand the ash smell that follows you around. It’s like death.” No one had ever said anything like that to him before. It showed in his face when she risked a glance.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“No. I’m not kidding.”

“That’s not a reason. Never heard that before from anyone. Earth elementals included. Met plenty.” There was a hint of aggression there that she did not want to have to deal with. She wasn’t going to, she didn’t have to. 

“It’s the reason that I am giving you. So you can just fuck off. I don’t have to explain anything else to you.” She didn’t like getting that aggressive back. Not with the kids around. It set a bad example. This man just got under her skin. He did it without having to do a damn thing either. That fact alone just pissed Blake off even more. She left the kitchen, leaving Negan behind without another word. 

***

That evening, Blake had helped settle a couple of the kids into bed. After she finished, she decided that she wanted to head outside and take a walk. The quietness among the trees and her garden would help clear her head. She hadn’t been right since the encounter with Negan in the kitchen. She wasn’t sure if that was because he had gotten her riled up or if it was the headache that he had caused. Something wasn’t right though as she stepped outside. She could feel it. 

Moving out towards the fenced in area where the garden was kept, a gasp escaped her lips, her hand racing up to cover her mouth. Everything was gone. Burned down. The smell was heavy in the air. How she hadn’t caught it before coming up to the garden was a mystery. Tears welled up in her eyes. All the hard work that she had put in, that the kids had put in. It was all gone. Sadness turned to anger within seconds. Why had he done this? He could be upset at her all he wanted. For him to do this to all those kids that were so proud of what they had done though? That was unforgivable and unacceptable.

She moved among the burnt plants. Nothing could be save. Everything was just too far gone even for her to help. Lowering herself down to her knees, she looked at what looked like one of the sunflowers that Luke had planted a few days ago. He was a little boy, no longer than four years old, who had only been at the mansion for a few weeks. He didn’t have any sort of power that would help with the flowers but apparently it had been something that he associated with his mother. He had been so attached to the sunflower and had been so happy when he had planted it. There had even been a promise to visit it every day just to be able to talk to the woman that was no longer with them. The anger turned to tears once more. She was going to have to explain to the little boy that the sunflower was gone. 


	3. No Explanation Needed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake confronts Negan about the damage in the gardens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to KittyKatZorse for allowing me to play with her absolutely wonderful OC Blake. I have a blast throwing these two in a multitude of different alternate universe settings.

The garden was gone. Burnt to a crisp without a trace of what once was left behind. Blake knew that confronting Negan in her anger would be a bad thing. She couldn’t exactly talk to Luke either. At least she didn’t think that she could. Seeing the crying face of the little boy would only make her anger worse. Then again, she didn’t want him to walk outside and see his flowers gone. She was going to have to talk to him. 

She had to take a few deep breaths, calming herself down and running her eyes. It was a moot point since she was just going to end up crying again, with Luke this time when he began crying. There was no denying that he was going to.

Knocking softly on his door, she waited to see if he would respond. It would be best if his roommates weren’t around though it was later in the evening so she might not be so lucky. He wouldn’t want the other kids to see him crying like that. She had tucked him into bed earlier but he hadn’t been the best of sleepers. Even with that, he was an early riser and tended to go right out to the gardens. This was not something that could wait. 

After a few moments, the door finally opened and Luke offered her a smile. He was nervous. That was clear as he looked up at her.

“Blake?” His voice was soft. 

“Hey Luke. Do you think we could talk for a minute?” His smile dropped and he instantly became more nervous. “It’s ok. You didn’t do anything wrong.” She quickly reassured him. She didn’t need him thinking that he was going to get in trouble for anything. 

“Yeah.” He nodded, fingers twisting and playing with one another. It was a nervous tick that the boy had. She stepped inside and knelt down so that she was more at his level. “Am I going away?” 

“No, no. You aren’t going anywhere sweetheart. This is your home. No one is going to make you go anywhere or take you away okay? She was quick to reassure him, reaching out and squeezing his shoulders softly. “It’s about those flowers that you planted.” She wanted to wince as she spoke but managed to keep a straight face. He was already teary eyed. Blake took a second to be able to compose herself so she didn’t break down right away. 

“Something bad happened to the garden and it’s gone now. That flower is gone.” She spoke softly. 

“My flower?” She nodded as it clearly took the boy a few seconds to process what she was telling him. HIs lip began to quiver. “But...but how am I going to talk to my mommy?” Blake’s heart broke. She didn’t have an answer for him about that. There really was no answer for it.

“We’ll plant another one. I know it’s not the same and I’m so sorry.” The tears began to run down his face but he wasn’t crying yet persay. Every second about this whole situation just made her feel worse and more angry. He lurched forward and wrapped his arms around her neck, crying into her shoulder. She hugged the little boy, rubbing his back and trying to console him the best that she could. 

It took about twenty minutes to get Luke calmed down enough and into bed. He had cried himself into exhaustion. Blake had tucked him into bed and knew that she couldn’t put off talking to Negan. She moved through the mansion on a mission, planning on confronting him no matter who was around. The man had explaining to do but Blake wasn’t sure that she even wanted to listen to it at this point. Not after what she just had to do with Luke.

She found the burnt stench that followed the fire mutant. Ignoring the fact that he was talking with Scott, she walked right up to him. Her finger poked hard into his chest. 

“Just who do you think you are?” Her voice shook with anger and she fought back the angry tears that wanted to come. “How dare you. Just because you are angry with me because I didn’t want to be around you gives you no right to burn down the garden. Do you have any idea of what you did? No, that’s a stupid question to ask. You have no idea what you did. What those flowers meant to kids. I just had to comfort a four year old because the flower that he planted for his mom is gone. He talked to it daily to be able to speak with his mom and it’s now gone. His mother is dead and that was the only comfort that little boy had. You took that away.” She didn’t bother looking at Scott.

“You don’t belong here in this mansion. Don’t you ever come near me again. Do you understand? I want nothing to do with you.” She made sure that point was abundantly clear. She didn’t want to hear a thing that he was going to say in his defence in that moment. As she got the words off of her chest, her desire to understand lessened. It didn’t matter what he had to say, he did it and had caused a lot of pain in that process. If he had been upset with her, it was even worse. He had no right to destroy something that meant so much to so many others when he was angry with her. Over something so incredibly trivial. 

She glanced at Scott who seemed surprised at her outburst before leaving the room. She gave him no time to offer an explanation or rebuke the claims. She couldn’t really do much about getting him kicked out of the mansion. There was no actual proof that he had done anything in the first place. Sure the garden was burned down and he was the fire mutant in the house but there was nothing that could be done since there was no video and no one has ever seen him do anything. That was the other frustrating part about it. 

She moved back out to the garden to see what she could do about cleaning up and getting things slowly back together. Slowly, she turned over the soil, mixing in the burned matter with it. It could do some good even destroyed. 

She spent hours outside in the area, getting the soil ready and looking to see what she could coax to grow back. There were a few buds by the time that she was done but all in all, there wasn’t to show for her effort. She reminded herself when she felt like crying again that it would be slow. Even with her powers, the area would need a little bit of time before life was able to truly bloom once more. She had exhausted herself physically to couple with the emotional exhaustion of dealing with Luke and the outburst at Negan. It was enough for now and she headed inside to see about getting a few hours of sleep before classes started. 


End file.
